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Friends Are Genetically Similar (2014)

nature.com

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Re: Friends Are Genetically Similar (2014)

#41

Post by orbitur »

cgag wrote: post #32
okreallywtf wrote: post #17

I have anecdotally noticed this with tall people and short people, I will notice a group of friends who are all 6'2"+, or who are all <=5'7", both of which seem statistically unlikely. There are plenty of more diverse groups (in terms of height) but its hard to say whether they are work friends or something else where you have less overall choice.

My experience is short people mostly get ignored in an otherwise tall group.

And to take this further, outside of jr. high/high school, this ignoring is unintentional. I'm 5'7" which makes me tall among the shorts, but the number of times I've felt like I had to jump, to make sure other guys pay attention when I interject, is high.

Seated meetings/meetups are my friend.

Re: Friends Are Genetically Similar (2014)

#42

Post by jawns »

tosser350 wrote: post #9

People need to realize we are built on hardware that is hundreds of millions of years old. We share a similar hormonal dominance hierarchy system with fucking lobsters. You can't just say it's and expect these things to disappear. Tribalism was important for survival, trusting someone who didn't look like you could mean death and thus was selected for over long periods of time.

And then we became human and started not acting like lobsters.

We have intellects, a sense of morality, and a will. Those allow us to drastically curtail what might otherwise be instinctive behaviors.

I know there are some determinists who say that free will is illusory and we're as much slaves to our genetics and instincts as lobsters are.

But it certainly seems as if, in practice, tribalism (at least the clear-cut type you're describing where we exclude people who don't look like us) is recognizable and avoidable.

Re: Friends Are Genetically Similar (2014)

#43

Post by jrs95 »

lentil_soup wrote: post #25
jdmoreira wrote: post #21

Having read "The Selfish Gene" I wasn't surprised. This study conclusion fits pretty well within the general theme of the book. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it!

Upvote for "The Selfish Gene". Should be mandatory for anyone interested in science and/or biology! A great eye opener about how evolution really works.

Definitely. And you shouldn't let the fact that it was written by Richard Dawkins scare you off if you have a negative opinion of him -- it has very little to do with his atheism.

Re: Friends Are Genetically Similar (2014)

#44

Post by choward »

cgag wrote: post #32
okreallywtf wrote: post #17

I have anecdotally noticed this with tall people and short people, I will notice a group of friends who are all 6'2"+, or who are all <=5'7", both of which seem statistically unlikely. There are plenty of more diverse groups (in terms of height) but its hard to say whether they are work friends or something else where you have less overall choice.

My experience is short people mostly get ignored in an otherwise tall group.

It works the other way too. I'm relatively tall and when I'm in a loud crowded place hanging around shorter people I have no idea what they are saying to each other.

Re: Friends Are Genetically Similar (2014)

#45

Post by corporateslave3 »

bdamm wrote: post #37
corporateslave2 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you aren't aloud to talk about that openly.

Counterpoint: Here we are, talking about it openly. Even Mr. Damore who previously was employed at Google was and is able to talk about it openly.

he was fired?

Re: Friends Are Genetically Similar (2014)

#46

Post by [deleted] »

cestith wrote: post #18
corporateslave2 wrote: post #4

What does this say about racism? Segregation?

The article specifically mentions olfactory similarities being pro-friend and immune differences being pro-friend. It didn't mention ethnic markers like melanin, face shape, nose width, ear size, or relative toe length at all. In fact, it said they attempted to control for racial and ethnic differences. How well that was accomplished wasn't really made clear in the article. I can imagine that whether or not cilantro…

[deleted]

Re: Friends Are Genetically Similar (2014)

#47

Post by matkoboska »

jawns wrote: post #42
tosser350 wrote: post #9

People need to realize we are built on hardware that is hundreds of millions of years old. We share a similar hormonal dominance hierarchy system with fucking lobsters. You can't just say it's and expect these things to disappear. Tribalism was important for survival, trusting someone who didn't look like you could mean death and thus was selected for over long periods of time.

And then we became human and started not acting like lobsters. We have intellects, a sense of morality, and a will. Those allow us to drastically curtail what might otherwise be instinctive behaviors. I know there are some determinists who say that free will is illusory and we're as much slaves to our genetics and instincts as lobsters are. But it certainly seems as if, in practice, tribalism (at least the clear-cut…

You are on a cocktail party. Have had a few drinks with friends. You all start talking about spiders. How they are these wonderful tiny creatures to be protected. You know, they got rid of insects and it's actually good to be above this. After all we have intellects, a sense of morality, and a will. We're not some freaking lobsters driven by phobias. And you know what? At this wonderful evening party, we all agree, that this is just the case. And then we all go home. Where, right after opening the door, you see this diguisting, big spider crawling on the floor. Without thinking twice you crash it with your shoe. And then -- using toilet paper perhaps -- pick up its remains and flush it in the toilet. Just to be sure that the motherfucker is really dead. Not to mention your 3 year old and 5 year old living in this house. And then, then, you realize. What happened? Just talked about it an hour ago. And then I got rid of this poor bastard anyway...

In a social setting, with people around having conversations, your brain cortex fires off. It's spinning like crazy. And the cortex is all about logic. It's all about intellect, a sense of morality, about a will, and group hierarchy, and talking, and relaxation. You get the picture. When the phobia kicks in... guess what... the first thing that will happen is that cortisol will turn off your cortex. In the stressful situation, in fight or run situation, your cortex is switched off brother. That's why this spider is dead. That's why after 30 years of perfect marriage you might do stupid things when 23 year old hot blonde is sexually provoking you. That's why live isn't white and black. Even in 2017.

Re: Friends Are Genetically Similar (2014)

#48

Post by PeterisP »

abra_kadabra wrote: post #26
fatjokes wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I guess my next question would be are genetically people that have genetic similarities more likely to have similar interests. If that is the case, it would lead to the politically uncomfortable question of different genders or ethnic groups being more likely to have particular interests.

I'm not sure that you could extrapolate to that wide an audience. One of the largest factors would have to be exposure to that interest, if you aren't exposed to it, then you can't know if you enjoy it (Nurture). In small groups that are already interested in something, finding genetic similarity would mean that their nature is similar, and that nurture has also had an opportunity to take effect. So small groups of p…

Sure you can, you just need to make an appropriate study - e.g. if you compare how similar are the expressed interests in identical twins vs nonidentical twins vs ordinary siblings vs nonrelated children adopted as babies (who all share the same environment), then you can measure the nature/nurture split; if the interests of identical twins are just as similar as siblings, then that's evidence that interests are determined solely by nurture, but if identical twins have significantly more similar interests than genetically nonidentical twins (which IMHO was the case, but I'm not going to look for the studies) then that would be evidence that at least part of these differences are innate.

Re: Friends Are Genetically Similar (2014)

#49

Post by kemerover »

bdamm wrote: post #37
corporateslave2 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you aren't aloud to talk about that openly.

Counterpoint: Here we are, talking about it openly. Even Mr. Damore who previously was employed at Google was and is able to talk about it openly.

"Openly" as in "anonymously through the Internet"

Re: Friends Are Genetically Similar (2014)

#50

Post by rxaxm »

> Topping the list for common genes were those related to our sense of smell. One explanation for this is that people with similar olfactory genes will smell things in the same way and so be drawn to (or repulsed by) similar environments... The opposite pattern held for genes related to immunity -- friends tended to be less similar at those parts of the genome.

This makes me think of the thesis of "Sex At Dawn" by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha. If humans evolved as polyamorous foragers for whom communal bonds were more important than paternal certainty, then it makes sense that you want your friends to like the same environments and add immunological diversity to your shared gene pool.

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